InsuranceAUM

InsuranceAUM
  • 4.9 (34)
  • Investing
  • Updated Biweekly

Tune in to the InsuranceAUM Podcast, which features insightful conversations with CIOs, asset managers, and other distinguished professionals in the insurance asset management industry. Each episode delves into the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities, providing listeners with valuable perspectives and practical advice. Don’t miss out on these engaging discussions that are essential for insurance investors and asset managers.

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 383: Evolution of Direct Lending: Relationship Based Lending Drives Relative Value

    In this episode of the InsuranceAUM.com Podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, sits down with Gavin Baiera, Senior Managing Director and Head of Performing Credit at Centerbridge, and David Marks, Executive Vice President and Head of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital, to explore the evolution of direct lending and why relationship-based lending may offer a differentiated source of relative value.   Gavin and David discuss how lending to founder and family owned businesses differs from traditional sponsor backed transactions, with a focus on leverage, covenant structures, borrower behavior, and long standing banking relationships. They also explore how pairing commercial banking relationships with private credit underwriting can open access to a broader range of non sponsored opportunities, support greater diversification, and help investors evaluate risks related to liquidity, AI exposure, and shifting credit conditions.

  2. Aug 13

    Episode 382: Portfolio Management in Action: Turning Insight Into Performance

    In this episode of the InsuranceAUM.com Podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA sits down with Tom Milewski, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Management at Deerpath Capital, to discuss why active portfolio management can be just as important as underwriting in private credit. Tom explains how managers can use monthly financials, borrower-specific KPIs, dashboards, and early warning triggers to identify developing risks, learn from portfolio trends, and make more informed investment decisions.   They also explore where outcomes begin to diverge between private credit managers, the difference between covenant-light, covenant-loose, and meaningful covenant structures, and why reacting early to signs of stress can help preserve value. Tom also shares what insurance investors should consider when evaluating a private credit manager’s approach to portfolio oversight, including how managers apply lessons learned and adjust their strategies over the life of an investment.

  3. Aug 10

    Episode 381: Demand, Dispersion, and AI: Where Credit Researchers Are Finding Conviction

    In this episode of the Insuranceaum.com podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, sits down with Bixby Stewart, Head of US Investment Grade Credit Research for Invesco Fixed Income, to explore where credit investors are finding conviction amid tight spreads, strong institutional demand, and a historic wave of AI-related capital investment.   Bixby explains why today’s investment-grade market may deserve its historically tight valuations, highlighting stronger credit quality, attractive yields, improved liquidity, and persistent demand from insurers, pensions, and other institutional investors. He also discusses relative value across banks, technology, utilities, energy, and private credit, while examining the risks surrounding hyperscaler issuance, AI monetization, market concentration, and the need for disciplined security selection in a bond picker’s market.

  4. Aug 6

    Episode 380: Private Market Priorities for Insurance Investors

    In this episode of the Insuranceaum.com podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, is joined by Sidd Chakravarty, Vice President of Investments at CoAction Global, to explore the private market priorities insurance investors should be watching as they prepare for 2027. Sidd discusses the growing role of asset-based finance, opportunities across non-agency mortgages and digital infrastructure, and the many ways insurers can gain exposure to the financing needs created by artificial intelligence.   The conversation also examines portfolio construction in a “normal for longer” interest-rate environment, spread compression, emerging risks within private credit and the importance of understanding exactly what sits beneath each investment. Sidd shares his perspective on manager selection, insurance-specific expertise, regulatory developments and the value of peer networks as allocators navigate an increasingly complex investment landscape.

  5. Aug 4

    Episode 379: Insurance Investing in Railcar Leasing

    In this episode of the insuranceaum.com podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, speaks with Ross Sylvester of Napier Park Global Capital and Katie Cowan of First Eagle Investments about insurance investing in railcar leasing. They explain how the asset class works, why industrial companies lease railcars and how contractual cash flows, specialized maintenance and long-lived physical assets can create a resilient investment profile.   The discussion explores how railcar leasing may support stable income, inflation sensitivity, duration alignment and diversification within insurance portfolios. Ross and Katie also share their perspectives on North American supply chains, geopolitical exposure, asset-based finance and how insurers can evaluate railcar leasing alongside traditional credit and real asset allocations.

  6. Jul 29

    Episode 378: The Structural Shift: How Insurance, BDCs, and AI are Reshaping Private Credit and Why the Lower Middle-Market is Built to Last

    In this episode of the insuranceaum.com podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, speaks with Trevor Clark, Founder and Managing Partner of TPG Twinbrook Capital Partners, about the structural changes reshaping private credit and the enduring role of lower middle market lending. Trevor explains why private credit should not be treated as a single, uniform asset class and discusses how manager experience, direct origination, disciplined underwriting, financial covenants and active portfolio monitoring can influence investment outcomes.   The conversation also explores how insurance capital, BDC structures, retail redemptions, longer private equity hold periods and artificial intelligence are changing the direct lending landscape. Trevor shares why strong companies can still become vulnerable when overlevered, how lenders can use better data and monitoring to identify risks earlier, and what insurance investors should consider when evaluating both private credit managers and the structures used to access the asset class.

  7. Jul 27

    Episode 377: Trade Finance: The Investment Opportunity In The Real Economy

    In this episode of the InsuranceAUM.com Podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, is joined by Maarten Offeringa of Federated Hermes to explore trade finance and the investment opportunity it creates within the real economy. Maarten explains how short-duration loans finance the production, infrastructure, and movement of physical goods through global supply chains, and why changes in global trade and bank regulation have made the asset class increasingly accessible to institutional investors.   The conversation examines trade finance’s potential benefits for insurance portfolios, including floating-rate income, low duration, self-amortizing structures, diversification, and relatively low correlation with traditional fixed-income markets. Maarten also discusses Federated Hermes’ bank-partnership approach to sourcing and underwriting transactions, shares real-world examples involving aircraft and essential food supplies, and explains where trade finance may fit within an insurer’s broader public and private credit allocations.

  8. Jul 22

    Episode 376: The Next Generation of Core Fixed Income for Insurers

    In this episode of the InsuranceAUM.com Podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, speaks with Pramila Agrawal, PhD, CFA, senior insurance portfolio manager at Loomis Sayles, about how insurers can rethink core fixed income in a changing market environment.   They discuss the expanding role of private credit, structured products and emerging market debt, along with the importance of liquidity, scale and consistent underwriting across public and private markets. Pramila also shares how technology is becoming more integrated into portfolio construction, risk management and customized solutions for insurance investors.

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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
34 Ratings

About

Tune in to the InsuranceAUM Podcast, which features insightful conversations with CIOs, asset managers, and other distinguished professionals in the insurance asset management industry. Each episode delves into the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities, providing listeners with valuable perspectives and practical advice. Don’t miss out on these engaging discussions that are essential for insurance investors and asset managers.

Information

  • Creator
    InsuranceAUM
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    InsuranceAUM

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